Good morning all,
Got up yesterday morning, all was fine in the world. Got set and went food shopping. Finished that and went back to my car. Tried to start it and DE NADA ! I was getting power, could hear solenoid clicking but no turn over at all. Call some friends and we try to jump it. Seems to start fine. OK fine. So as a precaution I take it to a sears auto over here in Durham NC to have them do a basic check on alternator & battery. Both check fine. OK Get into car and try to start it . DE NADA ! I have power solid solenoid click yet no turn over. Now my friends and I and one sears tech try everything we could to get car to start. Nothing. Sears tech says is probably the starter is shot , but want your opinions on this. As always people here your great with helping troubleshoot.

 

Yea, its prob the starter going bad. I had this happen, and a hit of the starter with a hammer usually works for some reason. LOL! and waiting 15 secs before starting the car helps too.

Solution: Replace the starter. If you have Autozone or any big auto parts store, tell them to test the starter. Sometimes it could be 1 small thing.

 

please use the search feature... there has been quite a few threads about this with some good discussion on how to diagnose. Just search "starter" in the recent and archived threads (I know there are plenty there cause I checked).

You could also take the starter out and have it tested at a local parts store that tests starters/batteries/alternators. Or you could test it yourself...

-First make sure you have a good ground to the starter by touching one end of an ohm meter to the starter and the other to a chassis ground.
-Then unplug the (I believe) BLK/WHT wire from the starter solenoid and make sure you have power to that wire when you turn the key to the start position. If you DONT have power when you turn the key, check that wire for breaks.
-Next take a length of wire and connect it to the positive terminal on the battery and then touch the other end to the starter solenoid (where the BLK/WHT wire was connected to). The starter should fire up and spin the motor, so be sure the key it not in the ignition and the car is in neutral or park. If the starter does not start to turn and you are giving it power and you know it has a good ground then the starter is bad. Take it out and just to be sure have it checked again before buying a new one.

 

I had an issue that popped up randomly with a 2004 Honda Civic not wanting to start from time to time. Took it to a shop and they said it was a relay or something like that on my carburator. (A little black fuse looking thing) Anyway they want $200 to replace it. Instead I went to eBay and bought a whole carburator for $35 and replaced myself and never had another problem. My car was an automatic. I mention that because sometimes it won't shift into gear without having to use the manual shifter release the shifter. Manual transmission don't have that like autos do. That also stopped after changing the carb.
Hope this helps someone out there.